NY unemployment won't accept my Chime account for direct deposit anymore?

Yeah this happened to me too. i think NY unemploymet is cracking down on online banks because of all the fraud. My varo account stopped working in august and i had to switch to a chase account to get my paymentss. such a pain in the a*s

I was having the WORST time trying to get my payments. First the direct deposit issue with my online bank, then endless busy signals when I tried calling. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual human at unemployment. Talking to a real person got my payment issues sorted in ONE CALL! Best money I ever spent considering how much backpay I was waiting on. They have a video about how it works here: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

This is a huge problem right now. I work at a community center helping ppl with benefits and we've seen tons of cases where online banks are getting rejected. It's part of NYSDOL's fraud prevention measures - they're prioritizing traditional banks with physical branches. Super inconvenient for people who are unbanked or prefer digital banking. If you really need to stick with Chime, you might have to accept the debit card and then transfer the funds manually.

Litterally dealing with the EXACT same thing rn!! I've been on chime for 2 yrs with my unemployment and suddenly last payment went to a key bank card i never even activated??? Called the automated line every day for a week and couldnt get thru. ny unemployment is a joke honestly

Have you tried entering your Chime routing number as a regular bank instead of specifically selecting Chime from a dropdown? Sometimes the system doesn't recognize it as an online bank that way. Worked for my SoFi account.

I know this isnt what you want to hear, but I'd strongly recommend just opening a basic bank account somewhere local. The key bank card is awful - fees for everything, terrible customer service, and sometimes it doesnt work at certain ATMs. Once youre dealing with unemployment issues, its best to eliminate any other complications.

Here's what everyone needs to understand about the NY unemployment situation with online banks: The Department of Labor has been dealing with unprecedented fraud since 2020. One of their counter-measures involves restricting direct deposit to traditional banking institutions that have more robust verification processes. Online-only banks like Chime, Varo, Current, etc. have become targets for fraudsters because: • They often have faster payment processing with fewer holds • Their KYC (know your customer) verification can sometimes be less stringent • Some allow multiple accounts to be easily created • They're harder to trace in fraud investigations Your options right now are: 1. Accept the debit card option (yes, the fees are annoying but it works) 2. Open a traditional bank account (many credit unions offer no-fee accounts) 3. See if you can use a family member's traditional bank account (though I don't recommend this) 4. Contact your state representative to complain about this policy If you absolutely need to speak with someone at unemployment about your specific situation, I highly recommend using claimyr.com - it's the most reliable way to actually get through to a human. It saved me weeks of frustration when I had a similar issue. Hope this helps everyone struggling with this problem!

My sister works for unemployment (not in NY but another state) and she said they're all moving away from online banks because of massive fraud rings targeting those accounts. Its happening nationwide.

Another victim of NY unemployment's BS policies 🙃 Welcome to the club

Just curious - has anyone tried linking Cash App? They technically offer banking services now with routing/account numbers. Wonder if that works or if they're blocking it too?

If u cant get anyone on the phone try going to ur local DOL office in person. sometimes they can override system issues. bring ID and all ur account info

the nysdol website is straight out of 2005 so im not surprised they cant handle modern banking 💀 trying to use that site on mobile is like torture

Their entire system is built to make everything as difficult as possible so people give up. Change my mind.

When youre ready to throw your phone at the wall from being on hold for hours, just use claimyr.com - got me through in 40 min when id been trying for days. Talking to an actual person got my direct deposit fixed right away.

It's so stupid they do this, not everyone can get a traditional bank account because of ChexSystems records or other issues. online banks are literally the only option for some people. what are they supposed to do??

Try asking for a supervisor when u eventually get through. Regular agents will just tell u its policy but supervisors can sometimes make exceptions for your account. worked for me when I had a similar issue

I'm dealing with this exact same issue! My Chime account worked fine for months and then suddenly last week it got rejected. The frustrating part is that Chime says everything is good on their end but NY unemployment just won't accept it anymore. I ended up having to use that awful KeyBank debit card and you're right - the fees are ridiculous. $2.50 just to check your balance at an ATM! I'm probably going to have to bite the bullet and open a real bank account but it's such a hassle when you're already stressed about money. This whole situation is making an already difficult time even worse.

This is exactly what happened to me! My Chime account worked perfectly for unemployment payments for over 6 months, then out of nowhere last month it got rejected. I tried re-entering the info multiple times thinking it was just a glitch, but kept getting that "online banking not supported" message. Had to call unemployment like 15 times before I finally got through to someone who confirmed they're blocking most online-only banks now due to fraud issues. It's so frustrating because now I'm stuck with that terrible KeyBank card that charges fees for literally everything. Even transferring money to my actual bank costs $1.50! I get why they're trying to prevent fraud but it really screws over legitimate people who rely on digital banking. Probably going to have to open a traditional bank account just for this, which is another headache I didn't need while job hunting.

This is so frustrating and unfortunately very common right now! I went through the exact same thing with my Ally Bank account - worked fine for months then suddenly got rejected with that same "online banking not supported" message. After doing some research, I found out NY unemployment is basically blacklisting most online-only banks as part of their fraud prevention measures. The timing really sucks because so many people switched to digital banks during the pandemic. I ended up opening a basic checking account at a local credit union (Navy Federal if you're eligible, or look into community credit unions in your area). Most have no monthly fees if you set up direct deposit, which is way better than dealing with those awful KeyBank card fees. It's an extra step when you're already stressed, but honestly it solved the problem immediately and now my payments come through without any issues. Hang in there!